5 comments:

Since you frequently blog about concerts and such going on in Cairo, I just wanted to tell you that I went to a fantastic concert last night. It was Lebanese Oud player Marcel Khalife and his two sons and a bass player. The combination of him on the oud, playing and singing, along with his son Rami on the piano--who experiments with the piano with one hand playing and one hand in the piano playing with the strings and creating beats, along with this younger brother on the percussion is phenomenal. The bass player is an Austrian, and the combination of all the different sounds is great. Its a mix of the old classic Oud sound and his beautiful voice along with Rami's innovative techniques in experimental beats with the piano. I know you had the mix of Jazz and Arabic, but when Rami plays with his father, its a mix of the new and old in such a perfect harmony that it was incredible. If you don't know him, please buy his CD, Marcel Khalife, and his son, Rami Khalife also has his own Cd...highly recommended.

Was just enumerating the many and mystical elemetns rendering this song a timeless classic. Having grown up outside of Egypt I never really had a clear idea of the place I belonged to. The song conjured an image of a magical neverland, a place I only knew existed deep inside people I loved. A mixture of family summer vacations, movies, somgs like this one and boyish whimsy helped me paint a picture of my Egypt. I hear it today and the nostalgia reopens a gaping hole in my soul calling for my Egypt to return to me, not I to it.